


Poetic Justice

by tj_teejay



Category: 12 Monkeys (TV)
Genre: 12 Monkeys Theme Week, AU, Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-06
Updated: 2015-04-06
Packaged: 2018-03-20 21:02:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3664881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tj_teejay/pseuds/tj_teejay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Cole hadn’t survived the gunshot wound by the dumpsters in the pilot episode? 12 Monkeys AU, written for Day 1of the 12 Monkeys Theme Week 2015.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Poetic Justice

**Author's Note:**

> **Title:** Poetic Justice  
>  **Author:** TeeJay  
>  **Fandom:** 12 Monkeys (Syfy)  
>  **Genre:** Gen  
>  **Characters/Pairings:** Cassie, Cole, Aaron  
>  **Rating:** PG-13  
>  **Summary:** What if Cole hadn’t survived the gunshot wound by the dumpsters in the pilot episode?  
>  **Author's Note:** 12 Monkeys AU, written for Day 1 (My Name Is James – Alternate Universe) of the 12 Monkeys Theme Week 2015.  
>  **Disclaimer:** None of this is mine except for my vivid imagination. Copyright to characters and situations belongs to Terry Matalas, Travis Fickett, Atlas Entertainment, Syfy Channel, and whoever else might wish to claim ownership. I'm just borrowing for a little escapism and a whole lot of fun.
> 
> +-+-+-+-+

“No hospitals, no authorities. Just you.”

Cole’s words still rang in Cassie’s head. He was bleeding, barely able to stand upright; that day at the John Adams Hotel in Philadelphia. The gunshot had torn right through his abdomen. It was messy and must have damaged one of his kidneys.

There hadn’t been anything she could do without proper surgical tools or an OR. He’d lost consciousness and died within the hour despite her best efforts to keep him alive. She’d never felt so helpless in her life.

That had been two years ago, and the memory still haunted her. Her life had already been in shambles then. It was even more so now. Aaron was long gone, as were any friends or allies she might have had.

The name Leland Frost was a dead end, and she inwardly cringed at the thought of all the Leland Frosts she’d called, visited, stalked. There was nothing else to go on, really. And now it was all unraveling.

The first reports of the Kalavirus originated in western Canada. It had eventually been termed M5-10 by the authorities, and she’d followed the media coverage with a sense of dread. This was it, she’d known right away.

It quickly grew from epidemic to pandemic, and there was nothing to stop it—least of all the futile efforts of a discredited virologist who’d been deemed mentally unstable. It was killing her to watch it unfold without leverage to intervene.

There was no comfort at all in the fact that Cole had been right after all, that they’d proven everyone who had declared her a lunatic wrong.

It was then that the shrill ringtone of her cell phone pulled her from her reverie. The caller ID was shown as ‘unknown’. She answered it.

“Hello?”

“Cassie?”

The voice was immediately familiar despite the fact that she hadn’t heard it in a long time. “Aaron?”

He sounded raspy, far away. “The virus. You were right.”

“Yeah,” she said in a low voice. Didn’t she know it?

“I’m sorry.”

She closed her eyes. That didn’t help. Not now.

When she didn’t reply, he went on, “I’m sick.”

“The M5-10?”

“Yeah.”

Jesus. Shit. This was bad.

“Where are you?”

“Containment Center B3. They say there’s nothing they can do.”

She shook her head, but she knew they were right.

“I want to see you,” he told her.

Did she want to see him? Did she want to risk it, risk venturing into the lion’s den? It would only be a matter of time for her to catch the virus. The chances that she was immune were so slim that she knew counting on it would be just short of a death wish.

“Will you come?” he pleaded.

She hesitated, then made her decision. “Yeah, I’ll come first thing in the morning.”

“Thank you,” he said.

The next day she found that it would be the last thing he’d ever say to her. They told her he hadn’t made it through the night, the fever ravaging his body and mercilessly destroying his organs.

Cole had been right, and damn him for ever getting her involved in the first place. What was the fucking point to all of this? Some kind of poetic justice?

Screw that, she thought. If they were all going to die, she might just as well go out with guns blazing.

She hastily packed her bag and set out to do the impossible—finding Leland Frost and putting a goddamn end to this disaster.

+-+-+-+-+


End file.
